Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-83-075-1559: United Catalysts, Inc. - West Plant; Louisville, Kentucky

Details

• Personal Author:
  Lucas, Cheryl ; Zey, John N.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Environmental and breathing zone samples were analyzed for nickel (7440020), copper (7440508), other metals, particulates, silica (7631869), ammonia (7664417), nitrogen oxides, and inorganic acids at United Catalysts, Incorporated, West facility (SIC-2819), Louisville, Kentucky in November 1982, and March and June 1983. The survey was requested by the Kentucky Department of Labor because of a potential high incidence of cancer in the workplace. Medical questionnaires were administered to 235 employees. Company pulmonary function test data and retirement and insurance death records were reviewed for a possible cancer excess. Twenty of 38 nickel samples exceeded the NIOSH recommended standard of 15 micrograms per cubic meter (microg/m3). Twelve of 38 copper samples exceeded the OSHA standard of 1,000microg/m3. The other substances were generally below their relevant standards. Seventy two percent of the employees reported having at least one of such symptoms as cough, nasal sores, itchy burning nose, and skin rash. Almost half of the pulmonary test results were abnormal. No significant excess of cancer was found. The authors conclude that a health hazard exists due to exposure to nickel and copper. Recommendations include establishing an employee education program about workplace hazards and improving the respiratory protection and engineering controls program.
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Air Pollution, Indoor Ammonia Environmental Monitoring Lung Lung Diseases Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Nickel Occupational Health Phosphoric Acids Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Skin

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• Keywords:
  Air-contamination Air-sampling Ammonia Catalyst-manufacturing Chromium Chromium VI Copper Cough Hazards-Confirmed HETA-83-075-1559 Industrial-environment Industrial Inorganic Chemicals, Chemical Catalysts Nasal Sores NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report OSHA Region 4 Phosphoric Acid Pulmonary-disorders Skin Rash Trace-analysis

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA830751559
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Kentucky ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  63 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Boxer, Peter A. ; Boino, James M. ; Crandall, Michael S. ; Reed, Laurence D. ; Myers, Warren ; Singal, Mitch ; Hughes, Robert
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00152205
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB86-117520
• Citation:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, HETA 83-075-1559, 1985 Feb ; :1-60
• CAS Registry Number:
  Nickel (CAS RN 7440-02-0) ; Copper (CAS RN 7440-50-8) ; Silica (CAS RN 7631-86-9) ; Ammonia (CAS RN 7664-41-7
• Editor(s):
  Harris, Stephanie M. ; Grass, Jacqueline G.
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1985
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  2819 - Industrial inorganic chemicals, not elsewhere classified - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:3288a1acc8d2ae652564d5c0876568999c621900db2060a9809795868723ad75f855be01e7eba3900c9b470d06a94b05bc99271284b35651c0df457f58f4802d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172643/cdc_172643_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 8.52 MB ]